The Good Die Young
by FirstDeckBlind
Summary: 16 yr old Ardren had had a rough life even before he survived the plane crash. His past filled with child abuse and street gangs, Ardren had given up. Before, he was struggling in a gang he thought he was condemed to. Now, the island has plans for him...
1. Swimming

A/N: This is my first fanfic, so please review…..also, as an afterthought, please read THEN review. Also, some language in here. Thank you, that is all.

Disclaimer: Oh yeah, did I mention that I don't own Lost? Where would you get that idea? I do own Ardren however (and if it was up to me, Charlie too.) Just clearing that up.

Ardren opened his gray eyes with a start, quickly squinting as the salt water rushed in. _How did I…where am…_ he was torn away from his thoughts when pains in his lungs reminded him that he needed to breath. He tried to swim up in vain; opening his eyes just enough to see, he saw that a chunk of ragged metal had pinned his leg down. He bent closer, franticly pulling at his leg. When this did nothing but rip his loose jeans, he stooped even closer, and tried to roll the debris off. A searing pain sliced up his leg, but, used to pain, he ignored it, and finally he was free. His vision was turning a bit purple, but with the last of his energy, he kicked towards the surface, thankful, for once, for the circumstances that had taught him to hold his breath so long.

**Flashback**

_Seven year-old Ardren struggled against the strong hand that had pinned him to the bottom of the over-flowing sink. His father pulled him up by his hair, shouting "You son of a bitch! After all I've done for you, when you stupid mum went an' died! I let you live in MY house, eat MY food, and this is how you repay me, huh? Now I've got calls from your principal about fucking child abuse, huh?" he dunked his head back under the water. Ardren stopped fighting, and instead concentrated on holding his breath. As he was pulled up again, his father spat "You got those bruises from playing football, or whatever it is you do! Clear?" Ardren nodded weakly under his long, soaking black hair._

He smiled halfheartedly as his hands hit the sand. He lay on his stomach, his right leg laying at on odd-angle beneath him. Resting on his deep-tanned arms, he studied the seen before him. Most people were either milling around the skeleton of the plane, or getting the hell away from it. The sounds of screaming filled his ears, and Ardren realized that that wasn't the only reason his ears were hurting so much. Feeling his earlobe, he realized that somehow, the gold ring had been torn out. This was such a sickening thought, that Ardren almost threw up.

"What happened to your leg?" a professional, but weary, voice asked. Turning to see the speaker, Ardren saw a man, in his thirties maybe, with short brown hair and drained brown eyes wearing a bloody suit.

"Dunno. Part of the plane crushed it, in there" he pointed to the water, "I rolled it off me, so I could swim up. Why?" the fourteen year-old asked suspiciously.

"Im a doctor. I need to bandage your leg or you might loose it, okay?" Ardren nodded after a moment. The man left briefly, and came back with a rather large shirt, which he was shredding to make bandages.

"This may hurt a bit…" he started, but Ardren scuffed.

"Right, okay. I can handle it, doc." Ardren said, in a falsely brave voice. The man shrugged, and peeled back Ardren's jeans. As soon as he touched it, Ardren felt a great rush of pain "OH! OH SHIT!" he cried, before blacking out.


	2. Theres no place like Home

A/N: Well actually, I got a review, which is a lot more then I expected. Wow, aren't I optimistic? (THANKS Lily's Lil Sis for my first review! I've only seen the first season, but everyone is telling me how great the second one is. Also, THANK YOU SGCFAN4ever! Oh, I know what im doing. For once…). As always. Anyway, onward!

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own lost. Quit asking me that. It just reminds me that I still don't.

When Ardren woke up, the sky was already dark, and the only light came from a huge bonfire. His leg was tightly bound, and someone had found and left a single steel crutch. They had also dragged him up the beach, away from the water. Just as well, Ardren could see the tide had risen a bit, and he would have been back underwater.

Ignoring the crutch, he clambered to his feet, and took a step to the fire. His bandaged leg fell fast, leaving him with a mouth full of sand. Sputtering, Ardren wiped the sand off his tongue, aware of loud sniggering behind him. Glowering, he shot a mean look at the laughing man. He was tall, and his long blond hair was slicked back. He was lounging against the plane, and was smoking a cigarette.

"You're really laughing at a cripple? You're sick." Ardren spat, just missing the man's boots. That stopped the laughing, but he was still smirking.

"Least I can walk, Crutches." He said, as he left. Ardren made a face, picked up the crutch, and hobbled over to the fire.

A few survivors were already sitting in a tight circle; the closest being a boy and a girl, who were bickering. The blonde girl's voice was a bit whiney, and the boy had his faced scrunched up, like he was reasoning with a small child. Across from them, a thoughtful looking man who was obviously part Arab, sat staring into the fire morosely. Next to him a pregnant woman sat, crooning softly to her swollen stomach. Lastly, a young man with highlighted brown hair was drawing absent-mindedly on his fingers. He looked up at Ardren and did a small wave with two fingers.

"Oy! Sit. Dry. Want some food?" Ardren nodded enthusiastically, limping over to the open seat next to him. After he sat down, the man handed him a packaged airplane meal. Ardren grimaced, but took the food. The man grinned sheepishly.

"Well…it's almost food." Ardren laughed, pulling back the plastic.

"Bloody hell! Were crashed on an island, its good enough." The man acted hurt, but Ardren knew by his wide smile he was joking. He ate the cold turkey sub, but left the apple alone. When he was little, his brothers would tell him stories about kids taking bites out of apples with worms in them. Ardren had never doubted his older brothers.

"Names Charlie." The man said suddenly, looking up from his ink-covered knuckles. "I like apples."

"My names Ardren and I don't know what you're talking about." Charlie gestured to the apple. "Oh. Ooh. Yeah, take it." He threw the apple into Charlie's lap. They talked a bit, but everyone started drifting away the later it got, and in the end, Charlie left to sleep too. Ardren moved closer to the fire. Fire had always fascinated him.

**Flashback **

_Eight year-old Ardren sat in the back of his oldest brother's, Jerry, Jeep. It was cramped, with all four of his brothers sitting almost on top of him. He was hungry; they had been driving around the dark city since five, and the digital clock said it was one in the morning. Sometimes they would stop, and disappear for a while before coming back carrying something wrapped in brown paper. After one of his brothers, Stephen, had clipped his eye with his elbow, he started to cry loudly. His brothers tried to shut him up, but he kept sobbing, much to Jerry's frustration. "Give him something to play with, or something!" One of the twins, Stacey or Scott maybe, handed him his lighter. "Enjoy, an' shut up, kid."_

Ardren woke up on the bench. He brushed his hand through his long black hair, smiling as he felt the singed ends. He shook his head, and then noticed that everybody was already awake, and was gathering their belongings. He even spotted some debris piled up with tarps for shelter. With help from his crutch, he walked over to the pile of bags that were unclaimed. He rifled through them, and found the leather mailbag-style pack he had brought. _Yay. Personal belongings. Now we need a shelter…_Ardren looked around. No way he could lift any of the metal with his leg, like the others were doing. He could carry one of those tarps, but he wouldn't know what to do with it.

"Besides building a very big sandcastle, I don't know what to do." He said aloud.

"One wind and bam. Gone." An older looking bald man stood behind him. For some reason, the man seemed to stare at Ardren's crutch. "Hey…you brought two crutches, or what?" the man asked, frowning.

"Naw, it's not really mine. Found it. Why?" The man shrugged, and offered to help him with his shelter. He was strange, but at least he knew what he was doing. When the man, he had introduced himself as Locke, was finished, Ardren was staring at a small trench in the ground, with a tarp-roof. He turned to thank the man, but he was gone. Shrugging, he eased himself into the tent, and set up.


	3. Concrete Jungles

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I_ really_ like reviews wink wink, nudge nudge Also, although it my not seem like it yet, this story isn't all "fluffish". I HAVE A PLOTLINE, MAKE NO MISTAKE! And, because I do, note that Ardren's age has changed. Instead of being 14, he is 16. Big hint. It will come up later.

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of lost. I am not the owner of lost. I am not……

When Ardren had finished, he clambered out, dismayed when he saw no one on the beach. Frowning, he turned around looking for the others. He spotted them in a tight group, arguing. By the time he got there, the crowd had mostly left, except for Charlie, the doctor from yesterday, and a fierce-looking woman. She had dark brown curly hair, and she commanded authority.

"Er…Hello. Did I…miss something?" Ardren asked when he had reached them. The woman and the doctor exchanged a look. Charlie smiled, fidgeting with the hood of his sweatshirt.

"I, Kate, and Charlie are going to find the cockpit of the plane. We are going to look for the transceiver, to see if we can get a signal." He spoke to Ardren like he was a little kid. Kate rolled her eyes and whispered "Jack, he's not two years old. He looks like he's what, eighteen?" She turned to him.

"I don't think you'd want to come- too many people, it will be dangerous…." She trailed off. The silence was broken only with Charlie singing under his breath.

"You're taking him." Ardren said, gesturing to the still singing Charlie.

"But in your condition…."

"Sorry, Crutches. You'll just slow 'em down." Came a southern drawl behind him. It was the same guy from last night. Ardren sighed and shuffled off. He leaned against the plane, like he had seen the man do last night. He watched them talk, and then Jack, Kate, and Charlie left into the jungle. The blonde man came back, and leaned next to Ardren. He didn't speak, but lit up another cigarette.

"Hey-" Ardren was cut off when the man angrily answered.

"Lemme guess- I shouldn't be smoking so close to the plane with all 'em gasses still in the friggin air, am I right? Well, I don't-"

"Actually, I wanted a cigarette." Ardren stated bluntly. The man blinked, and laughed. He shook his head, and handed him one out off the pack he had hidden in his sleeve cuffs.

"If you really want to go with 'em, bet you could catch up." He said, putting the box away. Ardren looked down at his feet. He had always had a short attention span, and he was already bored of sitting in his tent. The mystery of the jungle was welcoming after two days on the endless beach. He stuck the cigarette behind his ear and smiled.

The man laughed and walked away, and Ardren thought he heard him say "Great going Sawyer. Haven't you read the book "If you give an orphan a cigarette"? Now you've _adopted _him." Ardren went and got his now-empty bag, and placed a bottle of water and a bag of mini-pretzels (the only food he could find) in it.

It was easy to find them; there was a wide trail of broken branches and crushed grass behind them. It was the catching up that was hard. Ardren decided to follow them from a distance, enjoying the view of tree after tree. He could already see how many different animals lived in the jungle. It reminded him a lot like home.

**Flashback**

_10 year-old Ardren had to cover his nose, the harsh city smell- exhaust, gas, garbage, and salt- was so bad. He was sitting on a dumpster, and the towering buildings went on and on as far as he could see. He was trying to ignore the speech his brothers were giving. He had to listen to it every time they got new recruits. Jerry used to do it, but after he died, it was usually Stacey or Scott. "This" they would say, circling an area on the map they had drawn "is Viper territory. The Gorillas usually hang here, and you get some of those damn Scorpions over here." The new recruits would stare wide-eyed, nodding at everything his brothers said._


	4. Following in the wrong footsteps

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! If anyone does have any suggestions, I will defiantly consider them, I swear.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. I do own the first season (and an awesome box. Which has nothing to do with Lost, but is very square and cardboardy), but that's it. Oh yeah, and Ardren.

Ardren didn't know how long he had been in the jungle, but the pretzels and half of his water was gone. He had picked up a swarm of bugs, which he had named and had thought cool at first, but now were plain annoying. He had been so caught up in squishing "Billy" that it took him a while to notice that the path of broken and bent plants he had been following was too small to have been made by three people. Thinking that maybe they had split up, or one of them had walked ahead, Ardren shrugged, but examined the path closely as he walked. He couldn't see the sneaker-made foot prints in the mud any more. And when he bent down to tie his own shoes, he noticed that the new footprints were considerably smaller then Jack, Charlie, or Kate's would be. Also, Ardren could see each toe print clearly; this person wasn't wearing shoes. Confused, Ardren picked his bag up, and kept walking, thinking hard.

_How could a survivor get this far into the jungle? What if it's some crazy cannibalistic native? _Ardren almost hesitated, but curiosity got the better of him. He tried to run, but he had to be careful with his leg. Instead, he staggered as fast as he could, sometimes using the crutch like a pole-vaulter did, to sort of jump over the roots and rocks. He skidded to a stop; he was in a well-lit clearing, which was completely empty. Ardren slowly exhaled, feeling slightly relieved. He closed his eyes, and leaned against the nearest tree, gasping for air. A twig snapped behind him, and Ardren spun around, his arms raised in fists. At first, he didn't see anything, but the movement of her breathing caught his eyes. She was frozen between two trees, like she had been backing out of the clearing when he heard her. She looked like she was his age, and she had very long brown hair, which fell in waves to her knees. Her brown eyes were wide in fear, and she wore blue canvas caprise, a darker blue shirt, and no shoes.

"You're not taking me back there. Never again. You can't…can't make me!" she said, and Ardren noticed her voice had a familiar accent. With that, she ran, and in seconds she was gone. Ardren stood, dumbfounded. He almost ran after her, but it was going to be dark soon, and he didn't have enough supplies to stay the night. _Or the courage…_Ardren thought, hitching his bag over his shoulder. He had been walking for ten minuets, when Jack, Kate, and Charlie stumbled through the underbrush, soaking wet. Jack was bent over panting, Kate looked shocked and was shaking, and Charlie was wiping mud off his hands and legs.

"Um….did you find the cockpit?" Ardren asked, when no one said anything. The others looked up at him, then at each other, like they didn't know what to say.

"Well, we found the cockpit…" Kate started.

"And then we met this dead pilot, but he wasn't _really_ dead yet…" Charlie added.

"And, so, we got the transceiver, but-"

"There was a bloody monster! So we ran for it!"

Jack stood up, shaking his head. "We'll tell you when we get back, okay?" Ardren nodded slowly, trying to ignore the questions that had popped into his mind at the mention of an undead pilot, the transceiver, and a monster.

It was a quite trip back, except when Charlie would try to break the silence ("So how come you didn't get wet? Just my luck; it only rains over me." "So, why were you in the forest anyways?") He gave up, and sulked the rest of the trip, unconsciously fingering his hoodie's pocket. After half an hour, Ardren started to feel the strain on his bandaged leg, and his arm hurt from using the crutch. No one noticed when he stopped, doubled over in pain. His leg felt like it was burning. He sat half fell, half sat on the ground, waiting for the feeling to leave. Kate and Charlie came running back up the path, with Jack behind them.

"What, do you have a death wish or something?" Charlie asked incredguisly.

"Jack, we have to set up camp. Chances are the monster isn't coming back. It's already dark, and we don't know where were going!" Jack glared at his feet, thinking.

"Okay." He relented. "Where? Right here? We don't have any tents, you know."

"It won't be the first time I've slept outside without a tent." She said firmly, setting her bag down. Charlie whimpered something that sounded like "Monster", but stayed. Jack sighed, and put his bag down too, but took out of one of the pockets a book of matches.

"Do you have any food, um….." Kate trailed off awkwardly.

"Ardren."

"Right, sorry. Ardren." Kate apologized quickly. He took out his half empty water bottle, and held it up for her.

"That's all I got." Ardren said, slipping it back in his now-empty bag. Charlie stumbled through the trees next to them, looking chagrin.

"Where'd you go?" Ardren asked when Kate had gone to talk to Jack. He and Charlie were staring at the fire, and Kate and Jack were on "a walk". Or at least that's what Kate had said. Charlie ignored the question.

"If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?" he changed the subject. Ardren saw this, and frowned.

"Ugh, I don't know. Okay, well, I would be getting the hell out of Australia, so I guess somewhere in the USA. Mmm…maybe listening to Blink182 in my car. Eating fried chicken." Ardren answered vaguely. "So, really, where were you just now?" he tried again. Charlie winced, and his hand went instinctively for his sweatshirt pocket. Ardren nodded sadly.

"What?" Charlie asked irritated.

"Nothing." Ardren answered quickly. Maybe it was a touchy subject for him, or he wanted to keep it a secret. None of his brothers ever cared if anyone knew they were high. Ardren sighed and turned over to go to sleep. He wasn't awake when Jack and Kate came back.


	5. Everyone loves the French

A/N: I know, it's a bit short today, but you get a REALLY long flashback! Well, it's kind of long. It's longer then usual, dammit!

Disclaimer: Lost and its characters aren't mine. Neither is Hawaii, for the record.

**Flashback**

_13 year-old Ardren wiped his eyes on his sleeve. The sirens had faded away, and the city seemed deathly-quite, except for Stacey's muffled sobs. Stephen kicked at a pebble, watching it bounce off a brick wall. His eyes weren't focused, and he kept blinking. Stacey was crying even louder now, and he kept turning around, like he couldn't watch. Ardren was kneeling right beside Stacey's twin, his brother Scott. Scott was clutching Ardren's hand so tight his knuckles were white. The long cut was jagged, very deep, and ran across his entire stomach. _

"_Scott man. Scott, your going to be fine, right? All right? It's…just a knife wound. Eh?" Ardren bit his lip. Scott smiled weakly._

"_Can't…get rid…of me that…that easily." He wheezed. Tears streamed down Ardren's face. He knew- all of them knew - that no one could survive that cut. Ardren's other brother, Jerry, had died too. _But not like this_, Ardren thought. _Not like this_. He hadn't had to sit there with him, he hadn't been there. Jerry had made sure no one was around to stop him. _

"_Oh God. Oh God, Scott. I'm so…I'm so sorry! I can't watch this!" Stacey bawled. He knelt briefly by his brother, and said something Ardren couldn't hear. Scott laughed loudly, suddenly, which turned into a hacking cough. Stacey turned, and bolted down the alleyway. The iron-grip Scott had on Ardren's hand vanished suddenly and the coughing stopped._

"_Stephen. What are we…what do we…Stephen?" Stephen was staring blankly at the stone he had kicked earlier. His dilated eyes were empty of any emotion. _He's in his own world, _Ardren thought bitterly. _He can't take it, any better then Stacey can. One injection and he doesn't have to. He doesn't have to do anything._ Ardren had never taken drugs and he knew he never could._

Ardren heard the hissing of a fire being extinguished. He opened his eyes a crack; it was light again. Groaning, he sat up slowly, his back stiff because he had fallen asleep on his crutch. Jack was standing above the smoldering ashes, kicking dirt over the spot to put out every last ember. His shirt sleeves had been rolled up, and he had lost the tie. Kate was tying her shoe lace, her foot braced against a tree. They both looked wide-awake, and they were wearing there backpacks. Charlie was curled up underneath the tree opposite Ardren's. Ardren grinned when he saw Charlie was sucking his thumb.

"Good! Your up." Jack greeted Ardren, when he spotted him. "Kate found these berries. There pretty good. And safe to eat!" he beamed. He held up a handful of what looked like yellow blackberries. Ardren opened his mouth to speak, but instead yawned loudly, wincing as his jaw cracked. He nodded instead, and took one of the offered berries.

"These are actually pretty good…." He stopped suddenly. The sweet taste had turned incredibly sour. His eyes were watering, and he swore. Jack started cracking up, which caused Kate to turn around. She looked from the laughing Jack to the curing Ardren, and laughed.

"He gave you the yellow ones, didn't he?" she asked, smiling. Ardren nodded slowly. She handed him two handfuls of blackberries, and shook her head.

The forest was starting to look familiar again. Kate and Jack were sure they would reach the beach soon. Ardren gave Charlie his bag, so he could tie his shoes. When he was done, Charlie handed the bag back, saying

"Here is zee bag you asked me for, mousier. 'ope you find it to your liking." He had put on the phoniest French accent, which sounded horrible with his British one. Ardren realized something with a jolt.

"That's it! She was French! AHAH!" he laughed, recalling the young girl in the clearing's familiar accent. Charlie frowned at him.

"It's nothing," Ardren assured him. The trees suddenly gave way to miles of sand. Still crowded with people. Still dotted with tents. Still no rescue.


	6. Becuase it wont make a difference

A/N: SO SORRY, it took me, what, a week to update? Eh, it's up now…at least. And, plus plus, the story picks up now! Mmhhmm. Introduce plot…now.

Disclaimer: I SWEAR I don't own Lost! How many times do I have to explain, it will take a few more years before my plans take action! Jeez.

Ardren and Charlie left Jack and Kate to deal with the crowd; actually, they had been pushed away by the others, who seemed desperate for news. Grumbling, they glowered at the crowd, who seemed to gasp at Jack's bravery and Kate's news. They sat down by the shore line, were Charlie took to drawing in the sand, and Ardren to throwing stones into the water. He saved the biggest stone for last, which didn't go very far and left him soaking. Sputtering, Ardren looked over at what Charlie was drawing. It was a house, drawn very basically. Standing outside were three stick figures, grinning very broadly; a man, a woman, and a smaller girl. Up in the air, a plane with three windows was taking off. The first and last window was occupied by plain, happy faces. In the middle window was a sullen-looking face. Ardren studied the picture as Charlie added clouds, trees, and other details.

"What were you doing in Australia, Charlie?" Ardren asked. Charlie looked up from a half-finished tire swing.

"Er...just seeing family. Actually, I wanted to know if my brother was going to come back an' be our singer again." Charlie had already told Ardren about Driveshaft, after he found out that Ardren had their CD. "I didn't end like I wanted it. We had a fight…bet he regrets that one." He smiled grimly. He crossed out the drawing, and had stood up, when suddenly he bolted towards the line where the jungle met the beach.

"Ardren! Oy, Ardren! Come quick! There's…there's a _person_!" He shouted over his shoulder. Ardren fumbled with crutch, and staggered to where Charlie was pointing, though he didn't see anyone. He was getting used to the crutch, and it didn't take long for him to reach the spot where Charlie knelt. He had stuffed his sweatshirt under the girl's head. Arden recognized her as the girl from the clearing, because of the incredibly long dark hair fanned around her, and she was wearing the clothes.

"She's breathing." Charlie whispered, relieved. Resting his hands on his knees, he said, almost to himself "Wait, I don't know what I'm doing." Ardren shook his head.

"Well, I don't know what to do. I mean…she's alive, but I don't think she's sleeping." Ardren noticed the girl had no cuts, except scratches on her hands and legs. When he finally looked back at Charlie he was gone.

"Charlie?" Ardren shouted, filled with dread as he wildly looked around him. He saw him running towards him, Jack in tow. Jack examined the girl, while Charlie and Ardren hovered. Kate joined them, looking concerned. After a while, Jack stood up and faced them, looking immensely relieved.

"She was dehydrated, that's all. She'll be fine."

"Ironic, if there was more. To survive a plane crash, but die of some disease." Charlie commented.

"That's not funny." Kate scowled.

"I didn't say it was funny! I said it was _ironic_! Jeez." Charlie said defensively. He threw his hands in the air and walked away. Kate rolled her eyes.

"I wonder if any of the others know her. She can't be older then sixteen! Wonder who she was with." Kate speculated. Ardren wondered if he should tell them that she hadn't been on the plane. But, he didn't even know where she_ was_ from, and it didn't seem to matter either way. He didn't say anything. He noticed Kate and Jack had been talking, and looked up in time to see Kate leave to go find out if anyone knew anything about the girl.

Jack watched her go, and then picked the girl up. It looked easier then it should have been. Ardren followed him back to the camp, where Jack laid her in one of the tents, on a wall opposite from a man who was bleeding through his chest bandages. Ardren tentatively trickled water in the girl's mouth, which Jack was holding gently open. Jack stopped him after a while, and assured him she would be fine. Ardren nodded, and heard him leave the tent. He stared at the girl's face, willing her to wake up. After a few minuets, he too left the tent. He just wanted to sleep, so instead of heading over to the fire, he curled up in his own tent. Alone in the night, he stared up at the blue-tarp ceiling, thinking of his own reasons for going to Australia.


End file.
